When you talk to your Thai massage clients about healing, keep it simple. But do talk to them.

Tell them what to expect after they leave you. In plain language.

Here's the deal. I find myself on the mat these days receiving a series of Thai massage treatments for my wonky shoulder.

This is what I am learning. Stone turns to frayed wire. Frayed wire turns to rope. Rope turns to tissue. You know what I mean?

In a therapeutic practice, your clients are moving through stages of healing and you have an important role in supporting them - not just on the massage mat. They need to understand what will happen next. After your treatments. When the healing begins to settle in. Here are the 4 stages of healing;

Stage 1: Stone

You know stone. You work on it daily. Your clients, many of them unfortunately, live with it. Stone is dense, dry tissue. It feels old (in that chronic sort of way), and no energy moves through it.

When I started my shoulder treatments, stone.

Stage 2: Frayed Wire

Frayed wire is a bad feeling, let me be clear. Bad if you don't understand that it is the next healing phase after stone. Frayed wire snaps and abrades. It has sharp edges. It feels unsettled.

My shoulder version of frayed wire would have been scary to me, except that I understand it. A client needs to understand it too.

When chronically blocked, hard tissue begins to heal, it breaks up. It feels like frayed wire. Movement can bring jabbing pinches. It can make weird noises. It can feel, well, a little "broken."

Tell you clients to expect that feeling, and they will understand. They will trust the work. They will know that you can get them through it and on to their goal. Healed.

Stage 3: Rope

Rope bends and twists. It is better than stone by a long shot. Better than frayed wire by a good bit, but rope is not good enough. Rope is dry. Rope binds.

As I ease into the rope phase of my healing, my range of motion is coming back. The snapping and cracking are gone, replaced with gummy thumps, like rubber cement.

Don't let your clients quit here. There is more healing to do. "Good enough" is not good enough.

Stage 4: Tissue

Tissue is responsive. It is supple. Tissue is vibrant and warm. This is the final stage of healing, the "all done" part of your work with your good people.

When you talk with your clients, keep it really simple.

They don't need to hear about proprioceptive responses. You can geek out about that with your Thai yoga buddies. Use your own unique and perfectly crafted metaphors to help clients recognize the stages of healing.

If you have done your work well, both on and off the mat, your clients will improve. When they do, they will talk about you and your practice (in plain language anyone can understand). And that is the single most important way to grow your practice.

Because there is no end of need out there. Keep up the good work! There are so many amazing people yet to treat.